


Protocol

by TwilightKnight17



Series: Reaper Oneshots [11]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Gift Fic, Loose Canon, other reapers mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-01
Updated: 2017-07-01
Packaged: 2018-11-21 18:40:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,227
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11363307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwilightKnight17/pseuds/TwilightKnight17
Summary: "Sutcliffe, this has to stop."Grell would do anything to keep her job. William is increasingly unsettled.





	Protocol

**Author's Note:**

> This was originally written as a gift over on Tumblr (as I don't usually write Grelliam), and is a weird mishmash of bits of anime canon and headcanon because I wasn't being super-serious. It was also written before 105, so expect some things to not quite line up with what we know now.
> 
> Enjoy!

When William first saw her, he almost didn’t recognize her.

There had been trouble with the Board again. Grell had pushed the rules too far, gotten just a bit too out-of-control, and had been threatened with termination from the London office if she did not meet the “professional standards” that the Board worked so hard to enforce worldwide. If she was forced to “retire” from the Shinigami Dispatch Society, she would be banished to the mortal world, and William had heard no end to her complaining after she found out about that particular part of “retirement”.

He had made the offhanded comment that if she wished to stay, she might actually have to listen to him for once and follow the rules. Keeping to the rules to the letter would ensure that the Board was placated, and would allow her to keep her job. And if there was one thing Grell loved as much as red and chasing after men, it was her job. But he hadn’t expected her to take him quite so seriously.

He hadn’t seen her in a suit since they’d become Seniors and were able to fully take advantage of interpreting the dress code. He chose not to interpret at all, preferring the clean black suit and elegant black tie done in a perfect Windsor knot. But Grell had become a magnificent blur of red, pushing the limits of acceptable attire completely out the window, and so it was startling to see black cloth covering her slim figure for the first time in a century. She was dressed to the nines in a perfectly pressed suit near-identical to his own, black tie done up neatly. Her hair had been done up in a complicated bun circled with braids, taming all of her long tresses into something more workplace appropriate. And when she stepped into his office, she greeted him with a calm, “Good morning, William.”

William blinked at her. It was definitely still Grell; she was the only one who didn’t call him “Mr. Spears” or “senpai”. But the professional appearance was jarring after years of flamboyant red.

“Good morning, Sutcliffe…” he managed, still staring.

She set a stack of paperwork on his desk, continuing, “There’s a few more things for me to get done, but I’ll have them ready before I go out on my next reap.”

William continued to stare.

Grell finally noticed, a hint of her playful nature glimmering in her eyes. “Oh my. Is something wrong, Will?”

“I didn’t expect you to…actually take my comment about following the rules to heart.” He tried to mask his confusion and the vaguely unsettled feeling he had with his usual indifferent mask. “To take it so far as actually following the dress code…”

“I like my job, Will. And if the Board’s trying to take it away…” Grell said, trailing off. “I can still be me when I’m out reaping. I’m not giving up my scythe. But if this is what it takes to stay here…” The ‘with you’ was implied but went unsaid. William knew how she felt.

And really, he couldn’t say much in response. He let her leave his office, watched her bring in the remainder of the paperwork before going on her reaps for the day, and received the last reports that she brought after returning, before going home for the evening. And despite the fact that all of her work was done and there was no reason for him to be stressed, there was still an odd sense of discontent lurking in the back of his mind.

xXx

Her new, proper, protocol-driven behavior continued the rest of the week, and while it still unsettled William slightly, it was starting to put the rest of the office out of sorts too. Ronald could be heard complaining to the other Juniors that his mentor wasn’t any fun anymore, and Eric moped because his partner-in-crime wasn’t willing to play along with his practical jokes. Eric’s moping put Alan out of sorts, and the whole office was beginning to spiral into a mess. William knew something had to be done.

That didn’t mean he was looking forward to it.

He called her into his office that afternoon, and as she shut the door behind her, she gave him a curious smile. “What is it, Will? Surely you’re not planning anything untoward, now that you’ve got me alone in your office?” Her flirting with him was the only thing that hadn’t gone away completely, and for once, he was marginally grateful.

“Sutcliffe, this has to stop.”

She blinked at him, and he realized she wasn’t wearing as much makeup as she used to either. “What has to stop, darling? I assure you, I’ve been following the rules to the letter.”

“Yes, that,” William said impatiently. “That’s what has to stop. It isn’t you, and your behavior is upsetting your coworkers and causing unnecessary stress for the office.”

It was Grell’s turn to stare, her expression full of incredulous disbelief. “You’re…upset because I’m following the rules, Will?” 

“Yes, I am.” He was well aware of the hypocrisy of the statement, but continued regardless, “I hate to say it but you are even more of a distraction now. Your sudden strict adherence to the rules is unsettling and it is difficult to work in such conditions. I much preferred you as a flamboyant troublemaker than this prim and proper illusion you have going.”

“But you’ve always wanted me to follow the rules more,” Grell objected, though a smile was creeping across her face.

“Yes, well, I’ve decided I don’t like it. Consistency is just as important as order in an office.” Will frowned, and before he realized what he was saying, he added, “And you’re not yourself when you’re like this. I much prefer the real you.”

Grell reached up and pulled the pins loose from her hair, letting it tumble down her back. “Do you, now?” She leaned over the desk, into his personal space, and he decided that he’d already bungled this far more than intended, and a little more wouldn’t hurt.

“I do,” he replied, reaching out to grab her tie. “You’re not _my_ Grell when you’re like this.” And he crushed their lips together. She responded immediately, practically climbing over the desk to settle in his lap, returning the kiss feverishly. When they finally broke apart, William ran a hand through her hair, managing a small smirk at the giddy look on her face. “Do you understand, Sutcliffe?”

“I think so, _Mr. Spears~_ ” Grell purred, kissing him again. And really, even though it was the middle of the workday, he couldn’t bring himself to complain about the wasted time.

xXx

She was back to normal the next day, in her bright red coat and heels, swishing about the office with all of her usual charisma. Eric and Ronald had both lit up upon seeing her, and the three of them were soon engaged in launching paper hornets at each other over the tops of the desks, interrupting each other’s paperwork.

William, for once, didn’t have the heart to reprimand them. He did, however, wander over in the middle of the mock war, retrieving Grell’s finished paperwork and allowing her to peck him on the lips without complaint.

The looks on Slingby and Knox’s faces were completely worth it.


End file.
